Japan employs kamikaze bombers for the first time at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, which took place in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines. Kamikaze strikes against Allied warships continued throughout World and were costly to both sides. War II. More
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What Happened in October?
Explorations, great battles, and crowned leaders. Discover meaningful events and milestones from October throughout history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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US Army medic Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss becomes the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor. More
The United Nations is officially established on October 24, 1945 as its Charter comes into force, when the Charter was ratified by a majority of signatories, 51 countries, including the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States).
Today, there are 193 member states in the United Nations. These member states are all sovereign states and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The United Nations also has two observer states: the Holy See and Palestine. More
WWI hero, addict and discredited Nazi leader Hermann Göring dies by suicide in prison after being found guilty during the Nuremberg Trials, convicted and sentenced to be hanged. He died by suicide before he could be executed by swallowing a cyanide tablet he had hidden from his guards. Hitler had designated Göring as his successor in 1939. More
President Harry Truman delivers the first-ever televised presidential address, asking Americans to cut back on their use of grain in order to help Europe, which was still recovering from World War II. More
U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager piloting the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis on the world’s first piloted supersonic flight, reaching a speed of Mach 1.06—faster than the speed of sound. The experimental purpose-built aircraft was air launched from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29 bomber. The Bell X-1 went on to fly 78 times—as fast as Mach 1.45 and as high as 21,900 meters (71,900 feet). More
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) focused its activities on investigating universities, labor unions, and the film industry. The committee called Hollywood actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters to testify regarding communist influence on motion pictures. Ten men who refused to state their political affiliations, claiming First Amendment rights, were imprisoned for contempt of Congress.
The “Hollywood Ten” became the first victims of a blacklist by major movie studios that curtailed hundreds of careers before it ended in 1960. HUAC's legacy remains controversial.
Critics condemn its aggressive tactics, arguing they constituted a politically motivated "witch hunt" that violated First Amendment rights; while supporters argued that its actions were a necessary response to national security concerns during the Cold War. The committee's actions contributed to a climate of fear and suspicion, profoundly impacting American society and careers for decades. More
An air pollution environmental disaster hits Donora, Pennsylvania. The town was home to many industries, such as steel mills and zinc melting plants. Of the town’s population of 14,000, approximately 20 people passed away and between 5000-7000 were estimated to become very ill due to the smog event. Investigations into the disaster eventually led to legislations to establish better control over air pollution. More
The People's Republic of China is proclaimed by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, (CCP), marking the establishment of a communist government in China.
The German Democratic Republic. The GDR, commonly known as East Germany is created from the Soviet occupation zone of occupation on October 7, 1949. The United States responded by stating its position that the GDR was “without any legal validity,” and that the United States would “continue to give full support to the Government of the German Federal Republic FDR at Bonn in its efforts to restore a truly free and democratic Germany.”
The FDR, commonly known as West Germany had been formed months earlier on May 23,1949 by combining the occupation territories of France, Britain and the U.S. The U.S. refused to recognize the GDR until 1974. The GDR was absorbed by the FRG in 1990 when Germany reunified. More
U.S President Dwight Eisenhower pledges support and aid to South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem. The decision was rooted in the Cold War belief in the "domino effect," where the fall of South Vietnam to communism could lead to other neighboring nations to fall.
It marked the beginning of a long-term U.S. involvement in South Vietnam, later continued and expanded by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. More
Israeli forces attacked across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, advancing to within 10 miles of the Suez Canal under the pretext of protecting the Canal from the two belligerents (Egypt and Britain and France). Three month before, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which had owned and operated the Suez Canal since its construction in 1869. Britain and France landed troops of their own a few days later. More
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, marking the start of the space age. The artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth on its elliptical path.
That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. The image is of a replica ,stored in the National Air and Space Museum. More
American Express launches the American Express card. American Express previously had an international network of offices in place, and their traveler's' cheques had been accepted throughout the world for decades, this was the first credit card accepted internationally. More
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, Independence Day from France. Guinea was the only French West African colony to opt for complete independence, rather than membership in the French Community. France withdrew all aid to the new republic. shortly thereafter. More
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Independence Day from the UK.
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, Independence day. The effective date of the London-Zürich Agreements was August 16 1960, but the public holiday was moved to October 1 to avoid summer heat and tourist season.
The fourth and final presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy, before the 1960 U.S. presidential election takes place at the ABC studios in New York City, New York.
The debate was moderated by Quincy Howe of ABC with Frank Singiser, John Edwards, Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor as panelists. The questions were related to Foreign affairs. More
President John F. Kennedy, in a letter to the members of the Committee on Civil Defense of the Governors’ Conference, urges Americans to build bomb shelters as protection from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. Kennedy also pressed Congress to allocate more than $100 million to build a network of public fallout shelters.
Only one year later, the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted over the USSR’s placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba. During the tense 13-day crisis, some Americans prepared for nuclear war by buying up canned goods and completing last-minute work on their backyard bomb shelters. More
A team of scientists working at a University of Florida lab, invent a sports drink to quench thirst. the drink that would soon become known as Gatorade was born. The name "Gatorade" is derived from the nickname of the university's sports teams. Eventually, the drink becomes a phenomenon and made its inventors wealthy. More